The Fastest Clubs of 2017
Published: Last updated:
If you're looking for more speed, here's 45 new clubs that deliver it
Jailbreak bars, speed slots, cup faces, inverted cones, turbulators... Today's new clubs are rammed to the rafters with tech to help you hit it further. The examples above are just ve of the innovations currently featuring in drivers, woods and irons on sale now; there are many more.
But they all have one thing in common – they improve ball speed from your sweetest strikes and they preserve ball speed when you don't hit it out of the middle (ie most of the time!).
Equipment editor Simon Daddow, a former club designer, says: "Preserving ball speed is the holy grail of club design, which is why so much technology is now engineered to do exactly that. So whether you hit it towards the toe or heel, or high or low on the face, the ball still gets out there and you don’t lose too much distance."
"The numbers here are the fastest ball speeds generated by our test pro Chris Ryan, who has hit every club on sale this year. It's worth noting the fastest ball speeds don't necessarily equate to the longest shots; if it's combined with too much or too little spin, shots don't launch at the optimum angle or hit the perfect peak height to maximise carry distance or run- out."
"So we would not go on a blinkered search for extra ball speed alone. But what this does give is a great idea of how closely the top clubs are matched, and how fast a ball speed golfers can generate with each clubcategory."
All this data is from our Top Gear test earlier this year (so we've not included the latest Ping G400 launches or Callaway Epic irons), where we used a controlled indoor environment along with constant golf ball temperature and a different launch monitor to other club tests in this issue.
Better player Irons
To find out more about each club, click on their names to read our full reviews
120mph
Ping iBlade
Cobra King Forged One Length
Ping i200
121mph
Wilson Staff FG Tour V6
Callaway Apex Pro
TaylorMade P770
Cobra King Forged Tour
Srixon Z 765
Mizuno JPX 900 Tour
Watch the review of the Mizuno JPX 900 Tour irons below - our joint fastest better player irons of 2017
Game improvement irons
To find out more about each club, click on their names to read our full reviews
124mph
Cobra King F7
Callaway Apex CF 16
125mph
Benross Compressor Type R
Ping G
126mph
Callaway Steelhead XR
127mph
TaylorMade M1
Watch the review of the TaylorMade M1 irons below - our joint fastest game improvement irons of 2017
Super Game Improvement Irons
To find out more about each club, click on their names to read our full reviews
126mph
Cobra King Oversize
127mph
Yonex Ezone XPG
Mizuno JPX 900 Hot Metal
128mph
Benross HTX Compressor
129mph
Wilson Staff D300
Callaway Big Bertha OS
132mph
TaylorMade M2
Watch the review of the TaylorMade M2 irons below - our joint fastest super game improvement irons of 2017
Hybrids
To find out more about each club, click on their names to read our full reviews
147mph
Callaway Steelhead XR
Mizuno JPX 900
TaylorMade M1
148mph
Cobra King F7
149mph
Srixon Z H65
Callaway Steelhead XR
Watch the review of the Srixon Z H65 hybrid below - our joint fastest hybrid of 2017
Fairway Woods
To find out more about each club, click on their names to read our full reviews
157mph
Srixon Z F65
Cobra King F7
Callaway Epic
Tour Edge Exotics XJ1
Callaway Epic Sub-Zero
158mph
TaylorMade M1
TaylorMade M2
Watch the review of the TaylorMade M1 fairway wood below - our joint fastest fairway wood of 2017
Drivers
To find out more about each club, click on their names to read our full reviews
168mph
TaylorMade M2
Callaway Fusion
TaylorMade M1
Ping G LS Tec
Lynx Black Cat
Srixon Z 765
Titleist 917 D2
TaylorMade M2 D-type
169mph
Wilson Staff FG Tour F5
170mph
Callaway Epic Sub Zero
Watch the review of the Callaway Epic Sub Zero driver below - our fastest driver of 2017
